At last count, over 50,000 small shops which sell grocery and household items have been driven out of business only in the city of Bangalore, according to AICPDF – All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation.
The trade body is an umbrella unit representing over 4 lakh distributors and 3.5 lakh sub-distributors of consumer products across India, through 16 local traders associations.
The federation held its first of many meetings to come with representatives across various associations last week at Bangalore. Over 300 members participated in the meeting.
“Traditional retail has been the backbone of India’s economy, serving every corner of the country with dedication and resilience” stated Dhairyashil Patil, National President of AICPDF.
“Today we are being encroached upon by a new wave of so-called modernisation – ECommerce and QCommerce firms – operating under the guise of innovation and technology”.
“These companies are nothing but the new-age East India Company, exploiting our markets with cunning tactics. If we do not unite and act now, we risk being pushed to financial slavery under the pretext of modernisation”, he added.
The AICPDF has launched a campaign “Hum Hain, Hum Rahenge” (We are there, We will be there) to fight against the rise of various online formats such as Q Comm.
Over the next 3 months, the federation plans to bring all its members together and seek a minimum 20% margin for shopkeepers (from the present 8-12%), 10% to Distributors (from the present 3-5%) and 5% to Super Stockists (currently 1.5-3%) from Brand Owners and Consumer Product firms.
Editor’s Note
India is home to over 1.30 crore kirana shops, of which over 90% of them are located n Tier 2/3/4 towns and metropolitan cities have over 17 lakh shops.
Q-Comm is currently expected to be sized around USD 6 BN )INR 50,000 Cr) with a handful of players seizing the market opportunity.
Most of these startups are heavily funded by foreign Venture Capitalists and help the support them to amass huge market shares by offering freebies and discounts to consumers.
This has not just merely impacted the small and mid-sized shopkeepers deeply, but have also driven many of them out of their traditional, family-run business.
The fight between small and medium retailers vs the Organised Retailers (and now Quick Commerce firms) has been one of the best cases of David vs Goliath – Goliath here represented by the collective force of small retailers.
It’s a great beginning that the trade bodies are coming together to fight unitedly against the onslaught on their business by heavily funded start-ups and companies.
The burgeoning fued between small retailers and Quick Commerce firms is going to become an “Achilles Heel” for the Union Government as many of the unfair aspects of the business practices held by funded companies is going unnoticed.
With Assembly elections coming up in several key states in 2026, the Union Government has to initiate action sooner than later on this precarious issue, which is seemingly catching up every other day, with more and more customer additions for Quick Commerce firms.
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